During our series we have learned that angels are created beings, spiritual rather than physical in nature, and that they operate in specific roles. There is a military branch headed by the archangel Michael, a secret-service like branch run by the Cherubim, throne room attendants called Seraphim (which may or may not be angels), and some tasked to specific duties like protecting churches and initiating judgments. There is one more being that must be covered here, and despite its name it is in fact no angel at all: The Angel of the Lord.
Yesterday we learned that, while there are some 265 references to them in the Bible, angels are the least explored aspect of Biblical theology. This is unfortunate due to the fascinating nature of these beings. They share attributes with humanity (they were created with intelligence, emotion and will and some will be judged) and with God (they are spirit entities and therefore live eternally). There are various types of angels, suited for their roles, and the angelic guard follow a line of command like any good military. Today we look at the other roles and kinds of angels that exist.
I’m not much of an animal person, which is odd for someone who grew up with so many. My childhood was filled with dogs, cats, chickens, a duck, cockatiels, rabbits, a rat, a lamb, a guanine pig, and chameleons. Don’t get me wrong, I loved all our pets but when I moved out on my own I decided against having any pets. So when I moved into my first real home I was surprised when my sister bought me a cat for Christmas. To be clear, she was a great gift that continues to be great.
Paul was one f the most dynamic Christian leaders in Church history, and responsible for writing much of the New Testament. Yet few Christians know where he came from and how he came into his role of persecutor prior to his conversion on the road to Damascus. Paul’s early life was marked by affluence; his parents were prosperous and owned enough property to qualify as citizens of Tarsus, a well-heeled college town of the first century. His father was a Pharisee and of the tribe of Benjamin. The family spoke Greek, but Paul was also fluent in Aramaic and had memorized large portions of the Septuagint.
Last week we started our series on angels, learning about their origins and basic nature. We then looked at three classes of angels, the militant arm lead by the Archangel Michael, Cherubim who act as guards and Ophanim who backup the Cherubim in their service and transport the royal chariot. Today we learn about the only other named group of angels, the Seraphim. They are mentioned only once in all of Scripture, in Isaiah chapter six, and their description is minimal. They are described as having hands, feet and six wings. Most scholars assume they have a human form, but this isn’t necessarily the case.
In the study of spiritual beings, demon’s get all the press. It’s only natural, learning about one’s enemy is always more interesting than learning about one’s allies. Witness the amount of news agencies covering ISIS and how few stories there are about the men and women of our military as evidence of this fact. Or, look through the theology section of any Christian bookseller and you’ll find books about demons far outnumber those of angels. Even on this site, we’ve had an entire series on our spiritual adversaries and this will be the first about God’s ministering spirits.
There are many organizations that consider themselves watchdogs of the first amendment, assuring that there is a complete separation of church and state in government organization. The American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU) and Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) are perhaps the most well-known, and we’ve covered a few of their attempts to silence Christians in the public square. We’ve maintained that their agenda stems from a misunderstanding of the first amendment, which is about powers and not ideologies. The state shall not exercise authority over the church, and likewise the church has no authority over the state. That is very different from the dividing wall of hostility promoted by these organizations.
The headline read “Bishop receives hate mail” and, Of course, I had find out why. After all, who would write a bishop hate mail, if not other Christians? I’m sure our catholic readers will understand this more than us protestants, but the conflict was around a ruling the Pittsburg bishop’s made to allow congregants to eat meat on Good Friday. Why would he do such a thing, when centuries of tradition teach the eating of meat on Good Friday is a sin? He did so because this year the Christian holiday fell on Saint Patrick’s Day - and what goes better with green beer than corned beef?
Yesterday we learned about the cherubim, a fearsome angelic guard that protects God’s properties, and even the heavenly throne room itself. We looked at a description of these beings from Ezekiel 1, an edited version of the passage that eliminated the descriptions of everything else but these amazing angelic hosts. One of the items we skipped was the description of their chariot wheels, which appear to be living spiritual beings. While the word is never mentioned in Scripture, in Jewish tradition they are known as the Ophanim. Little is known about this race, but what we do know comes from the prophet Ezekiel.
Many years ago I was at a conference held by Christian author Dr. Larry Crabb. After taking the stage he asked the audience a question: “What is the center, the bulls-eye, of Christianity?” A number of answers were shouted out, including salvation, God, the Bible, and Jesus. All of which, he announced, were wrong. Wait, what? Jesus is not the “bulls-eye” of Christianity? Of course he is, its even in the name – Christ-ianity! This was surprising coming from such a gifted writer who wrote the likes of Inside Out and The Silence of Adam, two books that helped form my understanding of Christian living.
During our studies of Luke and Acts we overcame one powerful factoid that has been mentioned in pulpits across the country, namely that women in Jesus’ day were uneducated and treated as property. Any close reading of the New Testament denies such an understanding, as we see women owning businesses and supporting both Jesus and Paul’s ministries. There is a second factoid Think-Biblically.com would like to correct, that children were treated unfairly and largely ignored. While this may have been true outside Israel, it was certainly not the case inside its borders. We’ll consider the evidence, starting with the nation’s earliest days
When I grew up in public schools many teachers and administrators tried to bully Christians into living for their jobs instead of Jesus, and it would appear that not much has changed since then. Today we bring you the case of one Ms. Toni Richardson, a public school teacher in Augusta, Maine. Her school district has ordered her to stop phrases such as “I will pray for you” and “you are in my prayers” or seek employment elsewhere. What is more, the phrases weren’t used in the classroom but privately to another employee, who also happened to attend the same church with Ms. Richardson.
